Support Grassroots Earthquake Recovery in Mexico

Dear supporters,

We are reaching the end of the first part of our project and we wanted to share with you some of the activities we’ve been carrying out.

On November 5^th, 6^th and 7^th, two members of each of our grantee partners participated in our Second Strengthening Meeting in Mexico City. The meeting had the objectives of reflecting on the work accomplished in the reconstruction of their communities and acquiring new tools for the work that will follow next year. They were also able to share their achievements, the obstacles they faced and their plans for 2020. In addition, they received training in communications, fundraising, administration, leadership, how to build a security protocol, self-care for organizations, and how to create a business plan.

“I really like the meetings that Fondo Semillas organizes because they truly seek to strengthen our organizational capacities.” – Nashieeli from Comité Ixtepecano.

“What we’ve learned in this meeting will help us improve our organization to continue working in our community next year. But it has also helped us in the way we think about personal and family relations.” – Karina from Mujeres Luchando por la Autonomía.

We have finalized our personalized strengthening model with each of our grantee partners. Some of the last workshops include:

• CASDI, one of our grantee partners working in Epatlán, Puebla, received a Monitoring & Evaluation workshop led by Insad, one of our institutional partners.
• Asamblea de Pueblos Indígenas del Istmo de Tehuantepec en Defensa de la Tierra y el Territorio is supporting women weavers in Juchitán, Oaxaca to improve their business model and designs. They received a workshop in business model for co-ops led by Corazón Verde, another of our allies.
• Asociación Estatal de Mujeres Indígenas y Campesinas Xasasti Yolistli A.C., working in Jolalpan, Puebla, wanted to improve their communications skills so they participated in a workshop led by Luchadoras, a grantee partner from another program experts in communications.

Through our experience supporting women’s group leading the rebuilding of their communities these last two years, we’ve arrived to the understanding that disasters take a very long time to recover from. Even though media has stopped talking about the impact of the earthquakes in Mexico, we have seen firsthand that there is still a lot to do, especially regarding the intangible aspects such as the economy, the emotional health and the community connections. We have decided to continue supporting fourteen of these groups during all 2020. The grantee partners selected, based on their results during the first phase of the project and their ability to continue rebuilding their communities, will receive monetary and capacity-building support.

None of these would have been possible without your trust and support. Thank you so much for believing in us and our grantee partners to lead Mexico’s recovery.